Moscow reacts to the persecution of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija: "Catastrophic"

“The situation in Kosovo appears all the more absurd because it is being carried out by the provisional self-government institutions in Pristina, the very same institutions that claim to be a legitimate authority. At the same time, the persecution of people on ethnic grounds is taking place with the tacit approval of international missions deployed in this part of Serbia under the auspices of NATO, the EU and the UN,” Zakharova said in a comment published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.

According to her, the position of Serbs in the southern province has become “truly catastrophic.”

“They are being forcibly driven from their homes. The Kosovo-Albanian ‘judiciary’ is fabricating criminal cases on a mass scale and organizing intimidation campaigns. There is a growing number of cases involving the apparently disproportionate use of force, including torture. Serbian property is being demolished outside established procedures, as was the case with the mass demolition of buildings in July in the area of the Gazivode reservoir,” Zakharova added.

Recent demolitions of Serb-owned properties around Gazivode have also drawn criticism from EU and OSCE missions, which raised concerns about due process and property rights. 

According to her, the role of the prime minister of the provisional institutions in Pristina, Albin Kurti, comes as no surprise amid the unfolding drama.

“His political creed is based on fanatical, uncontrolled Serbophobia. The apathy of Western capitals is infuriating, as their de facto inaction encourages the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo,” Zakharova concluded.